Beyond Saving Face: The Value of Giving Face

Most people who have worked with Chinese companies have heard the advice: don’t make someone lose face.

Less often discussed is the other side of the concept: giving face.

Giving face is not simply being polite or showing respect. In Chinese business, it often means reinforcing someone’s standing in front of the people whose opinion matters to them.

Creating Room to Move

Consider a negotiation that has reached an impasse. Your counterpart has defended the same position for an hour and shows no sign of moving.

You also know, perhaps through a separate senior-level conversation, that their management is willing to compromise.

Simply saying, “I spoke to your Chairman and he is prepared to accept this,” may be factually correct, but it also tells your counterpart that their position no longer matters.

Instead, speak privately:

“I had a good discussion with Chairman Wang, and my sense is that both sides are quite close. He seemed very keen that we find a practical way forward. I think there may be more room here than it appears. What do you think would work?”

The real skill is in conveying the senior-level signal strongly enough to change the dynamics of the negotiation, while still making your counterpart feel that you respect their position and want them to be the person who finds the way forward.

Getting that balance right is not formulaic. How directly you can use a senior-level signal depends on the hierarchy, your relationships, the timing and what you can safely reveal. It takes cultural fluency and negotiation judgment to know how much pressure to apply without taking away the other person’s room to move.

Giving Credit Where Others Can See It

What happens after the compromise matters too.

When everyone returns to the room and an agreement is reached, there can be real value in saying:

“I really appreciate Director Li’s flexibility in helping us find a solution. This was a difficult issue, and I think the approach he has proposed works well for both sides.”

You may know that the breakthrough came from the Chairman’s earlier signal. Director Li knows it too. There is usually little benefit in making that visible.

Instead, you allow him to own the compromise and receive credit for resolving the problem. He has changed position without appearing to have been defeated.

In a Chinese setting, how the outcome is presented can influence the relationship that follows.

Giving someone room to move gets you to the solution. Giving them visible credit can reinforce the relationship and pave the road.

The Face Others Give You

The same principle works in the other direction.

Pay attention to how face is being given to you.

Who receives you? Where are you seated at dinner? Does the Chairman make time to meet you? How are you introduced? Does a senior executive publicly acknowledge your contribution?

Some of these details can look ceremonial to Western executives. In China, they can signal to everyone present how much standing you are being given.

The same applies to your own team. How visibly you support and give authority to your project representatives in front of Chinese counterparts can influence how the other side treats them afterwards. Giving your own people face can help them earn greater respect, and sometimes encounter less resistance, in the working relationship that follows.

When a Chinese counterpart gives you a prominent seat, introduces you warmly to senior management or publicly credits your contribution, they may be doing more than being hospitable.

They are giving you face.

Once you start noticing these signals, face becomes less abstract.